Card index



Sept. 6, 1932. E, w BAWS. 1,876,207

CARD INDEX Filed Jan. 11, 1,927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F" l l rw 28 TBAILEY ARTHUR f77 Y -73 I BAKER FRANK.; K/

| i i i Sept. 6, 1932 E. -w. DAVIS CARD INDEX Filed Jan. 1l. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 InvenTor. Elmer VV. Davis FR NK BAILEYI' ARMR 7 BAKER' Patented Sept. 6, 1932 uit seems ELMER w. DAVIS, or NEWTON CENTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE As- SIGNMENTS, l'.iO REMINGTON RAND INC.,

OF DELAWARE F BUFFALO, NEW' YORK, A kC()EPURATION CARD INDEX v Application filed January 11, 1927. Serial No. 160,490.

rllhis invention relates to card indexes andl particularly to that type of card index in which the cards are retained in overlapping relation by means of card-holding members f which are carried by a panel Vor backing member.

One yof the objects of the invention is to provide a novel cardk index of this `type' in A further object of the inventionl is -to provide a novel card index in which one or "i more connected card-holding members may.

be removed from the panel and from the other card-holding members thereon without disturbing the cards carried by the removed members or without ldanger that the removed card-holding members will become disconnected. l

A. card index embodying the invention has the advantage that whenever it is desired to transfer a groupV of cards from one panel to another, as frequently happens in expanding or rearranging aY card index, said group may be transferred as a unit by simply disconnecting from the Acard hol-ders vonl the panel the particular group of card holders to be transferred and Vthen transferring them bodily and as a unit to the vother panel. y This transfer can be easily effected without disturbing the cards being transferred.

A further object olf the invention is to provide a card index of this type which is so constructed that the transverse space or thickness of ythe combined holding members and cards is reduced to a minimum thus reducing the space required to receive the index.

A further object of the invention is Ato provide a card index of this type in which each panel with the cards carried thereby is received in an individual container or sleeve that is open at one end and is arranged so A' that the panel may be withdrawn from the open end thereby to expose the cards. These containers or sleeves may conveniently be placed in a tray or drawer or other receptacle vandbeing independent fromv each other any sleeve with its panel can be shifted from vone position in the drawer or tray to another position without disturbing the other panels.

One convenient way of supporting these sleeves is in an upright position lwith the open end at the top, although I desire rit to be understoodth'at this is only a suggested arrangement and that they invention` includes the panels each supported in a sleeve or holder regardless of the position in which the sleeves are supported. y

When these sleeves are supported in an upright position access to the cards on any panel is obtained by raising the panel in its sleeve or container.v

Another feature of my invention relates to meansuby which any panel is automatically locked in its raised position with .its cards exposed when it is thus elevated. An advantage of this feature is that when any panel is thus raised the operator has both hands free to manipulatethe cards.

YOther objects of the invention are to im` i prove card indexes in Various ways all as will bemore fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawings 'a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novelfeatures will be pointed out in the appended claims. Fig. 1 shows a card index embodying my invention, said figure being in the naturek of y an enlarged vertical section through the trav 23 with one of the' panels raised; l

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the container or sleeve with the vpanel therein; Y

Fig. 3 is'a cross sectional view of the panel;

Fig. 4 is a view of one of the card-holding members;

Fig. 5 isa vertical section through the upper end of the panel on the line 5-5, Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6, Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal cross sectional view through a plurality of assembled card-holding members taken substantially on the line 7-7, Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line S--, Fig. l;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view illustrating the position of the catch when the panel is in its lowered position;

Fig. l0 is a perspective view of a tray or drawer having a plurality of containers or sleeves therein, each supporting a panel.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section on the line 11-l1, Fig. 4.

As stated above my invention relates to that type of card indexes in which the cards are supported in overlapping relation by card-holding members carried on a panel. The card-holding members are arranged to be supported one from another in a series, each card-holding member being supported entirely by an adj acent card-holding member and one of the card-holding members of the series, preferably an end member, being detachably connected to the panel. The connection between the card-holding members a readily detachable one so that any cardholding member or group of card-hole members can be removed from the panel, and the construction is such that two or more connected card-holding members can be removed as a unit without disturbing the cards carried thereby.

lThe panels may be constructed in various ways without departing from the invention. l will preferably, however, make each panel of a sheet of metal or similar material and in Figs. l, 2, 3 and 5 one of the panels is indicated at l. It is shown herein as formed at each edge with a flange, the -flanges being indicated at 2 and 3 respectively. lllfhen the card holders and cards are connected to the panel they will be normally confined between the anges 2 and 3.

Each card-holding member may be constructed to hold one or morecards as desired. ln Fig. 4 l have shown'a card-helding member designed to hold four cards 9 although the card-holding member may be constructed to receive a greater or less numbervof cards without in any way departing from the invention.

The card-holding member herein illustrated is provided with a base portion 4 which is constructed to be interlocked or connected with the base portion of another card-holding member. Each card-holding member herein shown is also provided with means for supporting one or more cards, and such means may be such as to support the cards either in upstanding or in down-hanging position. lln the illustra-ted embodiment of the invention the cards are retained in position by upstanding card retainers or frames designed to receive the cards in upstanding relation. Said card retainers have any desired shape or construction. ln the illustrated embodiment of the invention each card Y arm 5 is oiise retainer is formed with the two side arms 5 which are connected at their lower ends to the body 4 and are connected at their upper ends by a bridge piece 6. Each card-holding member may have one or more of these card retainers and may thus support one or more cards 9.

Each card is placed directly behind its card retainer and is held in position between the retainer in front of the card'A and the next retainer which is directly in back of the card. ln the illustrated embodiment of my invention each card-holding member is provided with four card retainers and is thus adapted to support four cards 9.

rlhe arms 5 of each card retainer are shown as inclined upwardly` and inwardly toward each other and the upper edge 7 of the bridge pcrtien 6 et each card retainer is preferably curved outwardly slightly to facilitate the insertion cf the card into the space behind th-e card retainer. The lower end of each slightly from the base portion 4 as shown at 8, the offset being greatest at the enter edge of the arm and being least at the inner edge of the arm. The offset at the cuter edge should be at least as great the thickness of each card 9. As a result of this construction the lower end of each arm 5 occupies a plane which is inclined to the plane ef the ba 4 and to the panel while the upper end of each arm that connects to the bridge will occupy a plane substantially parallel to the base. Each arm 5 is thus twisted slightly between the top and the bottom.

As a result of this construction when any card 9 is placed behind the arms 5 of any card retainer the card will assume a curved the center portion of each card curvingbackwardly into the space between the arms 5.V This is illustrated in Fig. 7 wherein the cards are shown in dotted lines in order not to confuse the drawing. The advantage which accrues from this arrangement is L.hat the total thickness from front to back of the cards on a panel is reduced considerably because any two adjacent cards are separated from each other only by the arms a these cover cnly a small portion of the area of the card so that the Lgreater portion of each card area can lie flatly against the adjacent card.

The ari s 5 may be secured to the base 4 any appropriate way. @ne convenient way is to strike up the arms and bridge portion of each card retainer from a piece of sheet metal l0, the end portions of the sheetmetal being secured to the ends of the base member 4 in any suitable way as by means ofV rivets l1. These card retainers may be readily made by subjecting blank ef sheetmetal te the action of a operly-fcrmed die which will cut slits 12 in the sheet metal thereby forming the arms 5 and at the same lliysrrefaov time deforming the sheet to produceithe ofi'- set portion Sand the curved edge 7 at the topV of the bridge portion.

As stated above the card-holding members vare designed to be supported one on the other in a vertical row, each card-holding member constitutingv the 'entire support for the adjacent card-holding member. One construction which permits of this is V herein shown wherein each card-holding member is formed on its back face at its upper edge with a downturned lip 13 and at its lower edge with an upturned lip 14 which is adapted' to have interlocking engagement with the downturned lip 13 of another cardholding member.

In forming the lip 14- the material of the base 4 is bent backwardly as shown at 15, then is bent downwardly as shown at 16 and then is bent upwardly again as shown at 14;, the upstanding lip 14 being back of the plane of the v'body 4 and being spaced from the portion 16 as shown at 17. With this arrangement any two card-holding members may be connected together by sliding the lip 13 of one card-holding member into the space 17 between the upstandin-g lip 14 and the part 16 of the other card-holding member and thus a plurality of card-holding members may be connected together in a vertical row or series. rlhis connection between the card-holding members is such that each member is supported entirely by an acent member and connected members form a self-supporting unit. If two, three or more card-holding members are connected together they may be shifted from one position to another as a unit and without disturbing their relation and without disturbing the arrangement of the cards which are supported by the card-holding members.

A plurality of connected card-holding members are secured to each panel and are preferably supported from one end. In the illustrated construction the connected cardholding members are suspended from the upper portion ofthe panel, the upper cardholding member of the series being detachably secured to the panel and the other cardholding members being suspended one from the other. For thus suspending the cardholding members on the panel I have shown the panel as having secured thereto a supporting member 18 which is secured to the panel and which has at its lower edge an upturned lip 19 on which. the downturned lip 13 of the upper card-holding members of the series may be supported.

Where each card-holding member has a plurality of card retainers thereon, as herein shown, the upper and lower card retainer on each member are so situated that when any two members are connected together the 1, the upper end of each card projecting above the upper edge of the neXt lower card by an amount equal to the spacing of the card retainers. i When the card-holding members have been thus assembled together and connected to the panel 1 then individual cards 9 may be Vreadily inserted into the pockets formed by the cardl retainers vas shown in Figs. 1 and and 8. rPhe curved upper edge 7 of the bridge portion of each card retainer facilitates the insertion of the card into place` and when any card is inserted it is received betw-eenthe arms 5 of one card retainer and those of the neXt adjacent card retainer, the bottom edge of the card resting on the offset portion 8. Y

Because of the special shape of the offsetportions 8 and the inclined arrangement of the arms 5 the cards when inserted will be curved more or less in a transverse direction so that thev center of each card occupies the same plane as the arms 5 directly infront of it, thus reducing considerably the total thickness of the assembled cards and card retainers on any panel. l

The card retainers are preferably of such a size that the upper edge 7 of each retainer will come slightly below the upper edge 20 of the card which is retained thereby, so that the complete upper edge portion of each card is visible. In a card system of this type the name, address or other identifying data will be placed on the upper edge 0f the card as shown in Fig. 1, and when the'cards are inserted in the card-holding members they are arranged in overlapping relation with their upper edges eXposed. VVhe-n the card-holding members are assembled on the panel they are received between the wings 2 and 3 of the panel, these wings serving to prevent any lateral movement of the cards 9 in the cardholding members. l 1

The card index of this construction is very elastic as one or more of the card-holding members may be applied to each panel. Any two card-holding members can be readily connected together by slipping the lip 13 of one member into the space 17 of another member, this being done by a relative movement of the members in the plane thereof. It will be noted that the upturned lip 14 does not extend the full length of said member, each lip terminating at a point 21 inside the end of the supporting member. An advantage of this is that it facilitates the connectmg of any two card-holding members, for the upper left-hand corner of the lip 13of f be moved relative to each other in the plane thereof thereby to slide the lips 13 and 14 into their terloclring engagement.

The entire row or series of card-holding members supported by any panel may be readily removed therefrom as a unit by simply withdrawing the upper card-holding member from the supporting lip 19. To permit this to be done the row of card-holding L be moved away rom the panmembers mnsU el sufficiently to clear the flanges 2 and 3. To provide for this l propose to make the supporting' member 18 of flexible material and to connect it at its upper end to the panel shown at 227 the member 18 being tree from the panel below its point or" connection. Wi h this construction the entire row of card-supporting members may be swung outwardly away from the panel as a unit shown by dotted lines 5, the flexibility of the supporting member 18 permitting` this. W hen the card.-lielcling members are thus swung outwardly su'lliciently to clear the 'flanges 2 and 3 then the entire row of card-holding members may be removed from the panel by simply sliding them laterally to withdraw the lip 13 of the upper cardsupportinp; member from the lip 19.

Similarly, the lower card-holding' member or the lower two or three or more card-holding members can be disconnected as a unit from the other card-holding members by swinging; the row of card-holding members outwardly away -from the panel suliiciently to clear the flanges 2 and 3.

The removal of the entire row of cardholding` members or any number of connected card-holding members can be accomplished without disturbing! in any way the cards carried thereby and, therefore5 any card-holdingmember or any number of connected eard-holding;r members can be transferred from one panel to another in a very short time and without any rearrangement of the cards.

lf it is desired to add additional cards at a point between the top and the bottom oit the series ot cards carried by any panel then the card-holdinor members below the point where the additional cards are to be inserted can be withdrawn as a unit from the careholdin-p; members remaining on the panel and one or more empty card-holding members may be attached to the card-holding' members on the panel after which the withdrawn eard-holdinf members may be rep aced, this whole operation being` accomplished without disturbing' the cards in any way. The additional cards may then' be inserted in the empty card-holding members and thns the card-holding capacity of any panel may be expanded by the insertion of Acardsin the central portion of the paneland ing a unit. rlhese containers or sleeves may be placed in a drawer or tray er supported in any desired wayY and they may be arranged either vertically or horizontally as desired and as most convenient. lnstrated embodiment of my invention they are arranged in upright position in a drawer with the open end at the top. Each sleeve or container indicated at 2d and the drawer er tray in which they are supported is in'- dicated at 23.

ll'ach sleeve is herein shown in the form of a shell having` a front face 25 and sides 26, .said sides beingv formed at their back edges with inturned lips 2'?. Each panel is retained between the front face 25 and the lips Q7 and is slidably mounted in the sleeve. llach panel is slightly longer than its holding sleeve so that when the panel is in its loweredA position the upper edge thereof will progect slightly above the sleeve- Each panel is also provided .at its upper end with a tab 28 which may be in the nature of an index tab and which also provides a linger piece by which the panel may be raised as shown in Fig. 1f() thereby to expose the upper edges of all the cards carried thereby.

l have provided herein means for automatically locking each panel in its raised position thereby holding it in elevated position with the cards exposed so that the user ot the device may readily select the card which he is looking for. rlhis locking device is in the 'form of a spring latch comprising a resilient arm 29 secured to the edge of the sleeve f and cai ying` a locking' portion 30 that operates through an opening` 31 formed in the side 26 ci the sleeve. rlhe flange 2 of the panel has an opening 32 in its lower portion. When the panel is in its lowered position the locking member 30 merely rests against the flange 2 as shown in Fig'. 9. l/Vhen the panel is raised to expose the cards to view then as soon as the apertnre 32 comes into alignment with the locking member 3()7 the latter will snap into the aperture and thus loc-lr the panel elevated. ln this position all the cards on the panel. are exposed to view and access is provided to any card.

lV hen it is desired to reinsert the panel into its containing sleeve the locking latch may be withdrawn by pressing outwardly on the lin ger piece 33 at the upper end of the arm 29 thereby withdrawing` the locking member 28 from the aperture 29. rlhe panel will then tainer with its contained panel constitutln the il- "A Tja gravitate to its lowered position. This locke ing device thus holds the panel elevated so that the user of the system may have both hands free for either removing cards or inserting cards or otherwise manipulating them.

I have also here-in illustrated means for detachably retaining the sleeves or containers 24 in a drawer or tray 23 so that each panel may be raised out of its sleeve without danger that the sleeve will` be lifted from the tray in case' the panel should stick in the sleeve. Each sleeve is provided at its lower end with a tab 40 that is formed with an openingetl adapted to receive a locking rod 43 that ex'- tends longitudinally of the tray 23 at the bot` tom. This locking rod 43 is similar to the rod which is commonly used for locking cards in a drawerfand it extends through the slots 4l of all the sleeves thus holding them in position. Any sleeve, however, can be readily removed by first withdrawing the rod so as to unlock the sleeve and then elevating the sleeve from the tray. The locking rod 43 prevents -any sleeve from being lifted out of the tray accidentally whenthe panel -is to be raised in case the panel should stick at all.

The upper end of each panel is provided with a flange 42 andV these flanges are of such y `a dimension that when the panels are all inserted into the sleeves the flanges 42 practicaL ly meet each other thus closing up any open-v ings between the panels.

Each bridge portion 6 is formed with a depending tab 34 which is of a shapeto engage the bridge portionof the card retainer next below and this tab prevents the arms 5 and bridge 6 of any card retainer from being forced through the card retainer' directly above andy thus eliminates any possibility that the cards may be wrongly inserted.

I claim: Y

1. In a card index, thecombination with a panel, of a series of connected card-holding members, each having non-pivoted card-supporting means and each member except one of the end members of the series being supported entirely by one of the members `connected thereto, and means for connecting said end member to the panel.

2. In a card index, the combination with a panel, of a series of connected card-holding members, each having non-pivoted means for removably supporting a card and each memf ber except one of the end members ofthe gsiported entirely by one of the card-holding series being supported entirely by one of the members connected thereto, and means for detachably connecting said end card-holding member of the series to the panel. y

3. In a card index, the combination with a panel, of a series of connected card-holding members, each adapted to support a card in upstanding position with its upper edge free, and each card-holding member except one of the end members of the series being supmembers r tofwhich it is connected, and means for detachablysecuring said end member of the series to thepanel. Y l y 4'. In a card index, the combination with a panel, of a series of connected card-holding members, eachv'adapted to support a card inA 5.- In .a card index, the combination with a panel, of a plurality of cardholdingmembers, the upper edge of each member having a shape to interlock with the lower edge of the member above, and each member Vexcept one of the end members of the series being.-

supported entirely by an adjacent member, and means for detachably connectingsaid end card-holding member of the series'to the panel.

6. In a card index, the combination with a panel, of a series of connected card-holding members, each having provision for detach- `ably. supporting a card and each except the upper vone of the series beingl supported elntirely bythe member above, and means for detachably connecting said upper card-hold p ing member of the series to the panel.

7. In a card index, the combination with a panel, ofaseries of card-holding members arranged one above another, each member having provision for detachably supporting a card and'each except the upper one of the series being suspended from the member above, and means for detachably connecting said upper member of the series to the panel.

8. In a eardvindex, the combination with a panel, of ay plurality of cardeholding members, each ,having up-standing card-retaining arms the upper edge of each member having a shape to interlock with the lower edge of a member above, whereby the card-holding members may be suspended one from the other, and means for detachably securing the upper card-holding member to the panel.

9. In a card index, the combination with a panel, of a plurality of card-holding members each having o nits upper edge a downturned lip and on its lower edge an upturned lip,- the downturned lip of each member adapted to interlock with the upturned lip of a member above, said panel having an upturned lip to engage the downturned lip of the upper card-holding member.

10. Ina card index, the combination with a panel, of a plurality of card-holding members each adapted to hold cards in upstanding ported one from another in a Vertical series, and means for detachably securing the upper card-holding member to the panel.

11. ln a card index, the combination with a panel, of a series of connected card-holding tirely bythe member above, and means for detacliably connecting said top card-holding member of the series to a panel.

l2. ln a card index, the combination of ay plurality of card holders arrangedin overlapping relation, each having separated upstandinf card-retaniine arms the lower end of each of said arms occupying a plane inclined to the general plane ot' the corresponding card holder, whereby the portion oi the cards between the arms is bent backwardly.

13. A card index comprising a plurality or connected card-holders each having two upstanding card-retaining arms which are widely separated at their lower ends and are connected at their upper ends by a bridge portion, the lower portions of the arms being oiset from the body ot the card holdei and occupying planes inclined to said body.

14;. A card index comprising a series oit separably connected card holders each having a plurality or pairs of upstanding cardretaining arms, the arms of each card holder overlapping one ot the adjacent card-holders the arms or' each pair being widely separated ,L at their lower ends with said lower ends odset from the body ot the card holder and occupying planes inclined relative thereto.

l5. ln a card index, the combination with a. vertically-arranged container open at the top, of .a panel slidably mounted within the sleeve and capable of being elevated therefrom through the open top', a plurality of cards support-ed by said panel in' overlapping relation, `and a locking device to hold the panel in raised position.`

1G. ln a card index, the combination with a vertically-arranged container open at the top, of a panel slidably mounted within the sleeve and capable ot being elevated thereltrom through the top, a plurality oit cards supportedby said panelin overlapping relation, and a spring catch to hold the panel in elevated position.

17. ln a card index, the combination with a drawer or tray, of a plurality of open top containers, arranged in vertical relation in said tray, a panel slidably mounted in each sleeve and capable oic being raised through the open top thereof, and a plurality of cards carried by each panel in overlapping relation.

18. ln a card index, the combination with a drawer or tray, of a plurality of open top containers arranged in vertical relation in said tray, a panel slidably mounted in each sleeve and capable of being raised through the open top thereof, a plurality of cards carried by each panel in voverlapping relation,V and means for automatically locking each, panel in its raised position when it Visele-g;

vated.

19. ln a card index, the combination with a receptacle, of a plurality of individually removable open-ended containers receivedin the receptacle and a card-carrying panelslidablymounted in each container and adapted to be withdrawn from the open end thereof. Y

mounted thereon for receiving` index cardsl in spaced overlapped oi'iwset relation, said card holders being detachably connected to each other, the retainers or" one card holder being arranged in adjacent relation to the retainers ot the adjacent connected card holder whereby all or said retainers cooperate to support a series or cards in odset overlapping relation with substantially uniformA visible margins. f

2l. ln a card index, the combination of a plurality or" detachably Vconnected card holders, said card holders having i'lat base portions lying in a common plane, a plurality ot card retainers on each base portion formed as angular trame members having spaced ends connected to said base portion, said ramemembers extending in parallel relation to said base portion and extending beyond one margin of said base portion, each retainer having the traine members arranged in adjacent edge-to-edge relation, the retainers on one card holder being arranged in adjacent relation to the retainers on the adjacent connected card holders, the retainers on allot said card holders being in a substantially common plane.

22. i card holder comprising a flat base having a plurality of card retainers, said card retainers being formed ot a single piece oi' sheet material comprising end portions `secured to said base, and angular trame members arranged in adjacent relation to each` other and substantially parallel to said base, all oi' said traine members lying in a substantially common plane and having their ends integrally connected by said end por-V tions.

23. ifi. card holder comprising a base having a plurality of card retainers, saidrretainers being formed as a group of adjacent,

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this speciication.

' 'ELMERWVDAVIS SO l 

